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Like everyone around the world, we are all eagerly awaiting the Season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones. In the meantime, we chatted with Otto, our resident GoT expert and beer buyer, about Ommegang Brewery’s new Seven Kingdoms beer, Westeros, and of course, the fate of Jon Snow.

Can you give us tasting notes for this beer?
It reminds me of a refreshing Hefeweizen with lovely spicy herbal components in the nose. It’s fuller on the palate; more in line with a Belgian pale. The hops come out on the finish, reminiscent of an American West Coast pale. Seven Kingdoms is a marriage of a traditional Belgian-style wheat and a hop-forward American ale, but unlike so many of the marriages on Game of Thrones, the resulting hoppy wheat is pleasant, playful and inspired. At 6.9% ABV, it possesses a nuanced complexity that pairs nicely with the hop-forward characteristics that make it surprisingly refreshing.

How would you describe it to a friend?
This is a great beer to graduate to if you like Blue Moon, but want to try something a bit more substantial. It’s the perfect beer to take us from the early Spring into Summer as we feast on Game of Thrones!

Out of all the GoT characters, who does this beer embody?
Margaery Tyrell. Both the beer and Margaery are beautiful and ambitious.

Can you give us any food pairing suggestions?
Seven Kingdoms beer goes well with French fries, fried chicken, crudités, guacamole, hard cheeses, and bbq.

If you are dining in Westeros, try it with the duck sausage or kidney pie, but absolutely avoid the leftover pigeon pie served at Joffrey’s wedding. In fact, you should probably throw that out.

What have you liked the most about this brewery’s series of Game of Thrones-themed beers?
I can remember reading “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” series and wondering what the Elven ale tasted like. A fantasy series like GoT provide the Ommegang brewers with inspiration and license for experimenting with various styles, hybrids, and ingredients that may not have occurred to them before. And this Seven Kingdoms beer might be the most delicious one yet!

Real quick— is Jon Snow still alive, and does he know anything?
Don’t get us started on this! We, like Jon Snow, know nothing. However, a few clues point to his resurrection:

Many sources say Kit Harington was photographed on the set of Season 6 in costume as Jon Snow, but it could be just for a flashback sequence or sequences.

Why show Melisandre at Castle Black in the teasers immediately before the prison-style shanking? Our bet is that she does something with his blood.

They never showed his body being burned in the teasers, and everyone knows that if you live near or beyond the Wall, you need to burn the bodies or else they will come back as wights (the zombie-like creatures that lust for blood). It’s just good housekeeping. Again, we know nothing. Just like everyone else, we’ll be tuned in on Sunday, April 24 for the premiere!